Virago at anchor on theRiver Tyne, October 1943
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMSVirago
Ordered	1 September 1941
Builder	Swan Hunter,Tyne and Wear,United Kingdom
Laid down	16 February 1942
Launched	4 February 1943
Commissioned	5 November 1943
Decommissioned	1963
Identification	Pennant number R75/F76
Honours and awards	Arctic 1943-44 North Cape 1943 Normandy 1944 Malaya 1945 Burma 1945
Fate	Scrapped 4 June 1965
General characteristics V-class destroyer
Class & type	V-classdestroyer
Displacement	1,777 long tons (1,806 t) standard 2,058 long tons (2,091 t) full load
Length	363 ft (111 m)
Beam	35 ft 8 in (10.87 m)
Draught	10 ft (3.0 m)
Propulsion	2 × Admiralty 3-drumwater-tube boilers Geared steam turbines, 40,000 shp (29,828 kW) 2 shafts
Speed	37knots (43 mph; 69 km/h)
Range	4,860 nmi (9,000 km) at 29 kn (54 km/h)
Complement	180 (225 in flotilla leader)
Armament	Original configuration : 4 ×QF 4.7-inch (120-mm) Mk XII guns in single mountingsCP Mk.XXII 2 ×QF 40 mm Bofors guns in twin mount Mk.IV 6 ×QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns; 2 × twin mounts Mk.V, 2 × single mounts Mk.III 2 × quadruple tubes for21 in (533 mm) torpedo Mk.IX
General characteristics Type 15 frigate
Class & type	Type 15 frigate
Displacement	2,300 long tons (2,337 t) standard
Length	358 ft (109 m)o/a
Beam	37 ft 9 in (11.51 m)
Draught	14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Propulsion	2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers, steam turbines on 2 shafts, 40,000 shp
Speed	31knots (36 mph; 57 km/h) (full load)
Complement	174
Sensors & processing systems	Radar Type 293Q target indication (later Type 993) Type 277Q surface search Type 974 navigation Type 262 fire control on directorCRBF Type 1010 Cossor Mark 10 IFF Sonar: Type 174 search Type 162 target classification Type 170 attack
Armament	1 × twin 4 in gun Mark 19 1 × twin40mm Bofors Mk.5; 2 ×Squid A/S mortar or; 2 ×Limbo Mark 10 A/S mortar

HMSVirago was aV-classdestroyer of theBritishRoyal Navy that served inWorld War II. She was later converted into aType 15 fastanti-submarinefrigate, with the newpennant numberF76.

In addition to escorting the perilousArctic convoys during 1943–44,Virago participated with other British destroyers in theBattle of North Cape on 26 December 1943, where her torpedoes helped sink the badly beatenGerman battleship Scharnhorst, following a fierce fight between the Germans and the battleshipDuke of York.^[1] On 30 January 1944, while escortingConvoy JW 56B to Murmansk,Virago rescued 78 men from the stricken HMSHardy, whose stern had been blown off by an acoustic torpedo (resulting in 35 casualties).^[2] Following a bow collision between the two ships,Virago disengaged and HMSVenus rescued the rest of the crew and her officers (and then scuttledHardy). On 3 April 1944Virago escorted the carrier HMSSearcher duringOperation Tungsten, which was an inconclusive air attack on theGerman battleship Tirpitz at her base in Kaafjord in the far north of Norway.

During theinvasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944 she fired on German positions behindLion-sur-Mer onSword Beach, and later gave cover fire for troops advancing inland.^[3]Virago remained off the coast of Normandy at various stations providing support for the invasion force until 6 July, when she departed and resumed operations off Norway and with the Arctic convoys through the end of September.

Transferred to theEastern Fleet in January 1945. On 26 March 1945 she, along with the destroyersSaumarez,Volage, andVigilant, intercepted a Japanese supply convoy east of Khota Andaman, Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean. She andVigilant sank theJapanese submarine chaser CH-34.

She patrolled theMalacca Strait and supportedOperation Dracula off the coast of Burma in late April 1945 as part of the21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron.Virago subsequently participated in theBattle of the Malacca Strait withSaumarez,Verulam,Venus andVigilant which culminated in the sinking of the Japanese heavy cruiserHaguro in the early morning of 16 May 1945. This was a textbook destroyer night action, and was the last naval gun battle of the Second World War. Later in the afternoon of 16 May,Virago was ordered to refuel from the carrier HMSHunter. As the two ships closed, they were suddenly bombed by Japanese aircraft in a surprise attack and splinters from a near miss killed five ofVirago's crew (Hunter was unscathed). These were the only casualties on boardVirago during the entire war.Virago subsequently participated in preparations forOperation Zipper (the invasion of Malaya) in July/August 1945, and its eventual execution as a reoccupation manoeuvre in September 1945 following the surrender of Japan. Based in Hong Kong with theBritish Pacific Fleet after VJ day,Virago returned toChatham, Kent in December 1945.

Throughout her wartime commission,Virago was under the command of Lt. Cdr. Archibald John Ramsay White (1910-1991).^[4]

Between 1946 and 1949Virago was part of the3rd Destroyer Flotilla, based in the Mediterranean. On 2 August 1946 the Britishoil tankerEmpire Cross exploded, burned and sank inHaifa Roads,Palestine, killing 25 people.^[5]Virago andVenus took part in the rescue of survivors.Venus andVirago had been droppingdepth charges in the area to deterHaganahfrogmen from plantinglimpet mines. A depth charge dropped byVirago was suspected of having caused the explosion. Aninquest was held, at which the page inVirago'slogbook for that day was found to be missing. However, theAdmiralty dismissed the idea that a depth charge could have caused the explosion.^[6]

On 19 September 1946, gunfire fromVirago was used toscuttle the forward half of the wreck ofOhio, the tanker which had played a pivotal role in theSiege of Malta.^[7]

Between 1949 and 1951 she was held in reserve at Chatham Dockyard.^[8] Between 1951 and 1953 she was converted to a Type 15 frigate at Chatham Dockyard. On re-commissioning in 1953 she became part of the6th Frigate Squadron and in that year took part in theFleet Review to celebrate the Coronation ofQueen Elizabeth II.^[9]

Between 1955 and 1960 she was held in reserve at Chatham Dockyard. Between 1962 and 1963 she was part of theDartmouth Training Squadron.^{[citation needed]}

Virago was decommissioned in 1963 and held in reserve at Devonport. She arrived in Faslane for breaking up in June 1965.

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969].Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing.ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.OCLC 67375475.
• Marriott, Leo (1994).Royal Navy Destroyers since 1945. Ian Allan.ISBN 0-7110-1817-0.
• Raven, Alan; Roberts, John (1978).War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes. London: Bivouac Books.ISBN 0-85680-010-4.
• Whitley, M. J. (1988).Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0-87021-326-1.

• Naval-History.net HMSVirago
• "Japanese Sub Chasers". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved26 March 2014.

• U and V-class destroyers of the Royal Navy
• Ships built by Swan Hunter
• 1943 ships
• World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom
• Naval ships of Operation Neptune
• Cold War destroyers of the United Kingdom
• Type 15 frigates
• Cold War frigates of the United Kingdom

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